A Midnight Kiss in the Snow
by Love Sponge
Summary: After Tohru breaks the curse, Yuki shoots up the social ladder. But when they are both invited to the same New Year’s party and Tohru finally confesses her feelings, how will Yuki react? Alternate ending!
1. Author's Note

Several months after Tohru has broken the Souma family curse, Yuki decides to use his new freedom to his advantage, making up for many years. But when they are both invited to the same New Year's party and Tohru finally confesses her feelings, how will Yuki react?

The cool thing about this story is that I wrote it with an alternate ending, due to popular demand. (Actually, my friends forced me to write a second ending because some of them had different opinions…lol) So anyway, once you get to the last two chapters, you can decide what you want to happen. Or you can read both chapters. That's cool, too.

On with the story!!!!


	2. Orange on Red: A Winter's Sunset

The sun was setting, orange on red, a perfect winter sky. Tohru sighed and smiled at the pleasant view she had from the porch. Four months had passed since she had broken the Souma family curse, and after that, everything seemed so ethereal. The house itself had a different aura, a different mood surrounding it entirely. Hanajima didn't mention anything about strange vibes coming from either Yuki or Kyo. The mood was lifted, and the Souma family was entirely grateful. Yuki had been more talkative than usual, for the past four months. Kyo had been less hot-headed and more pleasant to be around, and Shigure had ceased his endless chatter about high school girls. 'It's kind of scandalous, though,' Tohru thought to herself, 'Living in a house with all men, and not having any consequences if they touch me.' She giggled to herself. It was all right. Nothing strange had happened, and that was the way she liked it. Though she wouldn't mind if Yuki would embrace her now and again...

"Hey Tohru?" someone said, behind her, tearing her away from her thoughts.

"Yeah?" she asked, turning around. To her pleasant surprise, it was Yuki.

"Let's all go out to eat tonight," he said, "Shigure said he'd treat us."

"Oh! Oh! Really?!"

"Yeah. How about we head down to Yokohama for some Chinese food?"

"Yeah!" grinned Tohru, enthusiastically.

"Do you mind if we go right now? Kyo was supposed to ask you an hour ago but he forgot, so I'm doing it."

"Um...sure," she said, looking down self-consciously at her school uniform skirt.

"Don't worry, you look fine."

Tohru's heart soared.

The family got back late at night. They were full of spirit and food, and the warm house welcomed them even more. "Mmm, that was the best Pad Thai I've ever had," Shigure stated, plopping down on the floor and comically rubbing his belly.

"That wasn't Pad Thai," muttered Kyo.

"What was it?!" asked Shigure, alarmed, "Surely it wasn't some of that questionable Chinese food you always hear about on the news. Like...the General Tsung's chicken that really isn't chicken. Because the shop is right next to an animal hospital and it was that afternoon's casualty."

Everyone made a face.

"No, I don't think it was that kind of restaurant," Tohru said.

"I don't know..." stated Kyo, "When I looked up into the rafters, I saw a rat."

"Ewww!" cried Tohru, in horror and disgust.

"Maybe it was Yuki," joked Shigure, to the amusement of Kyo, 'Wait...where _is _Yuki?"

Kyo and Shigure looked around the room, but Yuki wasn't there.

"Don't you remember?" asked Tohru, "After dinner he said he had a party to go to, so he left."

"Yuki's certainly been a lot more popular with the ladies since you broke the curse, Tohru," stated Shigure, "Aren't you a little jealous? Don't you regret it a little bit?"

"I don't regret it at all! I helped everyone! And I'm certainly not...jealous," she cried, looking down. The room was silent, but neither Shigure nor Kyo seemed to notice the air of sadness that Tohru possessed.

"So what _did_ I eat?" said Shigure.

"Egg Fu Yung." replied Kyo.

"Oh! That makes sense! I was wondering why it was so eggy-tasting."

"Didn't you even look at what you were ordering?"

"No, I never do. I like surprises."

"But what if you had ordered that General Tsung's chicken?"

"The one with the dead animal carcass in it, or something?"

"Yeah, that one."

"Well...I don't know. Isn't that what you had, Kyo?"

"No...Wait. Oh my God. I did have it."

Interrupting Shigure's incessant laughter and Kyo's horrified shrieks, Tohru said sadly, "I think I'll go to bed."

"Ok, good-night, Tohru!" cried Shigure, between laughs. Kyo was still shrieking.

"What do I do?!"

"You have to eat leeks."

"NO! NO LEEKS!"

"That's what it says in every medical book.'For indigestion, eat raw leeks.'"

"You've got to be kidding!"

The hallway was dark and a window was open at the end of it. The cold breeze blew the curtains out in a fan and Tohru walked slowly over to close it. Of course she wasn't jealous, she tried to convince herself. Yuki had always been popular with the girls. Now he actually had a chance for a social life outside of home. 'I should be happy for him,' thought Tohru, 'But why can't I be? Why I am being so selfish by wanting him all to myself?'

She crossed over to her room and sat down on the bed. It had a fluffy, yellow comforter. Shigure had bought it for her. But when she ran her hand over it, to smooth its surface, memories like shocks slapped her in the face. Yuki concerned, bending over her when she was sick. Yuki smiling, his eyes shining when she had said something particularly clever. Yuki looking worried when she discovered his secret vegetable garden. Yuki laughing behind his hand outside of the bath house. Yuki presenting her with a yellow, lacy ribbon on White Day.

She smashed her face into the comforter, her hands tightening into fists of the soft fabric. "Yuki!" was her muffled cry, as tears began to burn at the corners of her eyes. "All I ever wanted was you!"


	3. Head Over Heart

The halls were quiet except for the click-clacking of Tohru's shoes as she made her way to her history class. She smiled, enjoying the sound of her shoes on the white linoleum, but walked faster, as she was late to her class. Tohru had been up nearly half of the night before, crying and feeling stupid for crying over a boy. Then in math, she had fallen asleep, and her teacher, who was sympathetic, had let her sleep until ten minutes after the tardy bell rung for the next class. Tohru looked at her reflection in the glass windows of the hallway. Her eyes were red and puffy, the product of sleep deprivation and tears. 'I hope it isn't too noticeable...' she thought. A sick feeling twisted deep into the bowels of her heart when she remembered she shared history class with Yuki. 'He's always pleasant, though,' she reassured herself, but the feeling remained as she arrived at the classroom door.

"Gomen nasai!" she cried indirectly to the teacher as she flung it open, "I'm sorry I'm late!"

To her surprise, the teacher wasn't there. Instead, the classroom consisted of a few sloppy circles of students studying and chatting. One circle in particular caught her eye. It was the usual crowd of girls that followed Yuki around like lost puppies. They were all laughing at something someone, probably Yuki, had said, though he wasn't visible. A blond girl, an international student, looked up at the doorway and whispered something to the crowd. The laughter immediately ceased. Sensing something was wrong, Tohru walked across the room to see what the matter was. The crowd began to disperse, but not too far, as if protecting Yuki.

"Speak of the devil," whispered a girl with a rather short skirt. No doubt she had rolled it up to impress Yuki.

Yuki whirled around in his seat. His eyes widened in surprise as he recognized Tohru, and he leaned back, attempting to hide something. There was no use.

"Hi Yuki! What's that behind your back?" asked Tohru, in mock curiosity. The sick feeling in her heart worsened.

"Oh, it's nothing." Yuki replied, now crumpling it into a little paper ball.

"Is that last night's homework?"

"Yes," lied Yuki, "I was just sharing the answers with the girls."

"Ooh, good! Can I see it? I didn't finish last night!"

"I..." Yuki began, trying to think of something to discourage her. "I don't think it's correct. I don't want you to get bad marks on your homework or anything. I know how important grades are for you."

Tohru smiled, as if her heart had softened. It probably would have, too, if it weren't for the fact that Yuki was lying to her face. She shifted her weight onto her right leg.

"C'mon, Yuki," said the girl with the short skirt, "Show it to her."

"I don't think it would be a good idea..." Yuki protested.

"Aww, come on!" cooed a few other girls.

"I...I...d-don't think--"

"--If you won't show her, then I will!" cried the blond girl, as she swooped down and snatched the ball from him, tossing it at Tohru. "Here you go!"

Slowly, Tohru, unrolled the ball. Someone had done a very crude, very elementary drawing of her and what appeared to be Yuki and Kyo. Yuki and Kyo were drawn as handsome men, eyes shining, teeth sparkling. Tohru was behind them, dressed as a pauper, saying, "Take me in! I'm just a stupid, naive whore! Nothing will happen to me if I live in a house with a bunch of men!" Apparently Yuki had let it slip that Tohru had been living with the Soumas. Something wet hit the paper, smearing the ink, and then it happened again. Crying, Tohru crumpled up the ball and threw it at Yuki. "I can't believe you would draw something like that!" she shouted, running out of the room and not taking any of her things.

"Tohru! Wait! It's a misunderstanding!" cried Yuki, getting up and running after her.

Tohru could hear the other girls laughing hysterically and doing impressions of her. She ran down the hall as fast as she could. She had almost made it out of the building and into the blinding sun when someone caught her arm. "Tohru," said Yuki. Tohru tried to pull away, but he was too strong.

"Go away," she whined, her voice thick with tears, "Let go of me."

"Tohru, I didn't draw that cartoon."

"Oh, so you were laughing about it, then?!" she cried and tried to pull away. But he had a tight grip and she knew she wasn't going anywhere. Tohru relaxed, still crying.

"Actually, when you came in, they had just shown it to me...I was going to tell them off...but you confronted me first." said Yuki, loosening his grip. "You can go, if you want."

"Y-you mean...you d-didn't find it f-funny?" she asked in between sobs.

"Not at all. I don't think you're a stupid, naive whore. I think you're absolutely perfect."

Tohru took a shuddering breath and looked up at him. Eyes show true emotion and true intention, something in the back of her mind told her. Look at his eyes. She did. His beautiful brown eyes showed nothing but empathy and compassion. He was telling the truth. Suddenly she felt self-conscious. 'I look so horrible when I'm crying.' she thought, and turned away.

"Thank you." she said, sniffing. They were quiet for a while. Yuki looked out the window and onto the school grounds as Tohru finished crying. After her final sniff, Yuki asked, "Do you want me to get your bag and your coat?"

"Yes, please." replied Tohru, looking down. As he turned to walk up the stairs, Tohru felt a sudden rush of emotion.

"I miss hanging out with you." she blurted out before she could stop herself. Yuki stopped and looked back at her.

"Me too." he said, "Let's hang out tonight, okay? We can watch Totoro or something."

"Just me and you?"

"Just you and me," he smiled, promising her with a familiar sincere look.

"But aren't you going to another party tonight?"

"I'll find a way to get out of it." he said quietly, and then he turned and walked up the steps. Tohru watched his tall and thin retreating form feeling as though things appeared to be alright, there was something less sincere and enthusiastic about his last answer. Yuki had really changed. He once had been a shy, quiet boy, but now he was very outgoing and popular. It was not something he was used, she was sure. But he seemed to enjoy the attention. Tohru knew it was not going to be easy to change plans when he was so popular. She almost teared up again as she thought, 'He probably would have more fun with them rather than me.'

For the whole silent walk home, Tohru could not get that thought out of her head. Though her coat was warm, protecting her from the freezing winter air, she could not help feeling that same air blowing through her desolate heart. She could not help that ice cold thought circulating around her brain. It was as if winter had finally revealed to her the true nature of Yuki Souma, and the true coldness a simple sentence can lie upon a human being.


	4. Life Can Heal Itself

The night with Yuki was a success, according to Tohru. As soon as they had gotten home, Tohru cooked a scrumptious dinner and the two sat down to watch Totoro, just as Yuki had said. Most of the time, they didn't watch the movie, but talked about nothing in particular; grades, teachers, random gossip they had heard, and even a few rumors of their own about Shigure. 'Poor Shigure,' thought Tohru, chuckling to her, 'The rumors had started out kind, but at the end we kind of tore him down.' After the movie had ended and Yuki helped her clean up, Tohru had remarked what a wonderful time she had. "It was more fun being with you, missing the party and all," Yuki had said and excused himself to go to bed. At this, Tohru smiled, but the cold thought circled through her head once more, killing whatever hope and happiness she had inside of her.

A few days had passed since then, and Tohru felt as if she was in a daze. This usually happened when she had a cold, but this mindset was more than a common head cold. It was a virus...a plague, infecting her brain until her psyche fell to a weakened state. Shigure and Kayo spent most of the time looking after her, until one night, when Tohru would take no more charity.

"Please leave me alone," she begged as best she could. Her voice was dull, lifeless.

"Tohru, we can't just leave you like this. The sickness hasn't been identified yet," said a concerned Shigure, "Hare's tried everything but he's still researching."

"I just need some time to myself," Tohru said, trying to muster her once dazzling smile. The smile that lit up a room, even when barely flashed. There was no use in trying.

"Maybe we should do as she asks," muttered Kyo. After some protests from Shigure, the man finally gave in.

Relieved but still depressed, Tohru relished the silence. Inside, she sat down and began to think. 'I'm being such a drama queen,' she thought. 'I really should get over Yuki. No one should make me feel this way.'

Though she tried hard to forget, Yuki's face seemed branded in her brain, his very eyes burning into her soul. She shook her head, as if to loosen the image, and closed her eyes to sleep.

Tohru awoke to the sound of her door clicking closed. Startled, she struggled to sit up in bed.

"Hey, hey, lay back down," said Kyo in an oddly soothing voice. Thank goodness it was Kyo and not some murderer or rapist. Tohru relaxed.

"Hey Kyo," she croaked, almost at once forgetting that she wanted to be left alone.

"Tohru...you've been asleep for God knows how many hours...and all I could think about was you. Alone. Sick. It was saddening. And then I thought how I might feel if I was bed-ridden with a strange sickness. I wouldn't want to be by myself. Quiet peace would be the death of me. I need laughter, loud noises, shouting, even faint chatter...just life. A life without noise would be death. That's why I'm so loud all the time. And when I was thinking this, I realized that you might be the same way. That you, too, might thrive on noise. I didn't want you to perish in quiet peace. Oh, no, no, no...So I came to keep you company." he said.

"Thanks, Kyo..." said Tohru, sitting up slowly, with the air of an old woman.

"But you've obviously not perished, so I'm going to go back downst--" started Kyo.

"--No! Stay. Stay with me, please." Tohru interrupted. "I'd like that."

"O-okay," he replied, "What do you want to talk about?"

And gradually, Tohru began to heal. No longer did the image of Yuki make her want to cry. No longer did her thoughts drift around him. The daily and nightly talks with Kyo helped her get through her emotional plague. Sometimes the talks were intellectual, and Tohru felt as if she wasn't missing school at all. Sometimes the talks were quiet ones, about family and friends or otherwise. Sometimes the talks were light and witty, making Tohru want to fly away like the cardinals outside her window. Soon enough, Tohru was back on her feet, and ready to head back to school.

She woke up early, dressing with care. She wanted to look her best for the full day ahead. After she finished looking at herself (vainly) in the mirror, she tied two red ribbons in her hair. Red. The color of life. She felt lively and practically skipped down the stairs to start cooking breakfast. And oh, what a sight she saw. The kitchen was a disaster. The countertops and the table were covered in take-out containers. Some of the pots had remnants of burnt food crusting up the edges. And there was something chunky and salmon pink stuck to the ceiling. The kitchen reeked. Tohru felt a huge surge of guilt run through her veins as if she was being electrocuted. Of course, when she was sick, she hadn't thought of anyone else's needs but herself! The very thought of what the boys would eat hadn't even drifted through her brain. Internally kicking herself, she cleaned up the kitchen with such fervor that the house shook. Then she started on a hardy, healthy breakfast for the boys and herself.

Tohru had just finished setting the table when she turned around and ran smack into Yuki. Instead of the annoyed frown she expected, he smiled. He wasn't such a horrible person she thought he was after all.

"Glad to see you're feeling fine again!" he said, and walked into the kitchen to help bring the steaming dishes of food in. 'It must've been all in my imagination,' Tohru thought, sheepishly. 'He's not acting as I had expected he would.' Just then, Shigure and Kyo arrived, roused at the smell of Tohru's fine cooking.

"Tohru!" cried Shigure, "You're alive!"

"Of course she is, idiot!" exclaimed Kyo, walking in after him.

"Well, I was wondering what had happened to her. After all, it was you, Kyo, who went up to her room every night and day."

"...and what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you've been healing her...with LOVE!" cried Shigure, laughing hysterically.

"It's not like that!" cried Kyo in self-defense.

"Now I know what that song meant when it said 'I need some sexual healing...'" sung Shigure, dodging a punch of Kyo's.

"That's not true!"

"Hubba hubba!" said Shigure.

'Boys...' thought Tohru. It was good to be back.

When she arrived at school in both the company of Kyo and Yuki, Tohru was literally attacked by Uo and Hanajima. They caught up, in good company, during the morning classes, and by the afternoon classes, Tohru's face felt like peeling off. She had laughed and smiled so much. It was a pity she had missed so much of this while she was sick! At the end of the day, Tohru was emptying her locker, while she overheard a conversation of nearby popular girls.

"Yeah, you know who we should definitely invite?" asked one girl.

"Who?" asked another one with a lower voice.

"Yuki Souma!" the other exclaimed. The rest of the girls squealed.

"Yeah! Definitely! But I think we should be nice and invite that girl who's always with him...uhh...Tohru Honda, I think...I mean, it's not like she'd have anything better to do on New Year's or anything."

"Look, there she is! Let's go invite her." said the first girl.

Pretending she didn't hear their rude comments, Tohru continued to put things into her bag. Someone knocked on the metal door of her open locker.

"Yes?" asked Tohru.

"Hiya Tohru! I'm Yume from Class D. Do you remember me from your math class last year?" asked a bubbly-voiced girl with her hair in a dark plait.

'How could I not?' thought Tohru, 'You never shut up!'

"Oh yeah. You were really good at math." said Tohru with a fake smile.

"Aww, well I'm not all that." cooed the girl. Tohru had to fight to not roll her eyes. "But I am having a New Year's party on the 31st, and I was wondering if you'd like to go."

"Sure!" said Tohru eagerly. "I don't think I have anything to do that day, but sure."

Some of the girls in the crowd exchanged "I-told-you-so" glances, but again, Tohru chose to ignore them.

"Okay, well the party is, once again, on the 31st, and it starts at 8 pm at my house. I'll give Yuki the address, because I'm inviting him too. And I know you guys are close, so exchanging information won't be a problem."

Not knowing how to respond to that, Tohru did a half nod and turned to put her things in her locker, and the girls walked away, chatting.

"I hope I'll see you there!" Yume shouted over her shoulder and the others burst into peals of laughter.

'Hmm, Yuki's going to be there, too.' thought Tohru, 'I know I've been suppressing my feelings for him for the past week...but this party will be the start of us! I'll confess my feelings...and I'm sure he'll feel the same way.' Feeling slightly upbeat despite the mean comments from the girls, Tohru closed her locker and headed home in the gray afternoon and the lightly sprinkling snow.


	5. The New Year's Party

All of the students had been out of school for at least a week, for it was New Year's Break. But the whole week hadn't dragged on for seemingly endless hours. The day of the New Year's party had arrived rather quickly. Tohru had gotten up early in the morning to plan an outfit for later that night. It had to be something seductive, but tasteful, revealing just enough cleavage to get Yuki's attention, but not from anybody else. It was a tough outfit to pick out, but luckily Tohru had several options. The first was a combination of a tight, red cable knit v-neck sweater, and a shimmery black skirt with matching high heels. The second was a soft (it was cashmere), off-white colored turtleneck, with a light blue sleeveless puffy vest and tight blue jeans tucked into ivory boots. And the third was a low-cut green shirt with long sleeves, a khaki corduroy skirt and sparkling ballet flats. Oh, the choices!

After she had finally chosen her outfit, sometime in the late afternoon, Tohru was finishing her chores when she ran into Yuki on the stairs.

"I'm sorry, Yuki! I wasn't looking where I was going!" she apologized, sheepishly looking down at her feet.

"It's alright. You don't have to apologize. It was my fault. I was actually coming to see you." he replied.

"Me?"

"Yeah. I was wondering what time you would like to go to the party. I heard somewhere that girls like to arrive fashionably late?"

Tohru laughed, "I think we should be a little late. Maybe...oh, say, eight thirty?"

"That's fine with me," Yuki replied, and then opened and closed his mouth for a few seconds.

"Yes?" asked Tohru.

"W-well, actually, this is kind of embarrassing, but...I don't know what to wear."

Tohru laughed, again, "Do you need some help deciding?" she asked.

"Please," said Yuki, and grabbed her wrist to lead her to his room. Tohru had never been into his room before, but it was no surprise when she entered. Yuki seemed like a very neat person, and that was reflected in his room. It was common Asian ideology that a person's sleeping chambers reflected their personality and state of mind. Yuki's room looked like a traditional Japanese room, not a teenage boy's room. The floor was spotless, except for his futon mattress. An array of at least ten outfits was displayed on top. But the rest of the room was clean. No posters, no dirty socks, not even a stray Kleenex. Yes, it seemed he was a peculiarly neat person.

"I've already picked out some outfits," he said proudly, and Tohru was astonished.

"They're all perfect!" cried Tohru, "Which one is your favorite?"

"Well, I like this one on top," replied Yuki, bending over and lightly touching a gray sweater with blue jeans. "It's plain but tranquil. And a few people have said that it's 'cute.'"

"Are you trying to impress a special girl?" Tohru joked. But to her surprise, Yuki said, "Yes."

A special girl! It was probably one of his fan club girls who constantly followed him around. She racked her brains to try to identify the culprit. Some of the girls were quite pretty. It could be a number of them. At least five fit the personality she was imagining: pretty, with a lovely laugh, fashionable, kind, and gentle. Just the sort of person Yuki would go for.

"So, will you tell me who it is?" she asked.

"No," Yuki said, after some pause. He was blushing.

"That's fine." she said and turned on her heel.

"Are you mad?" he asked.

"Mad? Not at all!" she lied, "I meant that the outfit's fine. I'm going to go get dressed. I suggest you do the same."

And with that, she left the room. When she got upstairs, she spun around and collapsed melodramatically on her bed. 'Impressing a special girl!' she cried in her mind, 'How typical of him!' He was rather good looking, she had to admit, and of course he would want to impress a girl at a party like this. It was a night party, after all. There would be music and dancing, definitely booze, and a few scandalous acts that Tohru probably wouldn't hear about until a few weeks later. It was a perfect place to impress a girl, whether with alcohol consumption, fashion, or just plain charm. "Ugh," she said aloud, in disgust with a hint of discouragement. "Maybe I shouldn't go."

"Opting out, are we?" asked Shigure from just inside the doorway.

"Um...yeah..." Tohru muttered, taken aback.

"I know. What you're discouraged about. You can do it." he said.

"You don't know what I'm thinking!" she cried.

"Just take it from me. Fine, whatever it is, it will be alright. In the end you'll be happy you went." he said, and turned on his heel.

Eight thirty arrived, and so did Yuki and Tohru. Side by side, they climbed the stairs to Yume's house like it was a catwalk. Tohru, looking fashionable in her off-white turtleneck, sleeveless puffy vest, and jeans tucked into ivory boots, looked nervous but excited. Yuki had a blank expression on his face, concentrating on climbing the stairs in his grey sweater and blue jeans, with the air of a supermodel. The party was loud. Tohru could feel the bass from the music vibrating her ribs. She could hear people laughing and shouting, the faint sounds of someone vomiting in the bushes already, so early in the evening. Ah, parties.

Yume greeted Yuki warmly at the door, and sent just a nod Tohru's way. In less than thirty seconds, Yuki had been whisked away to another crowd by his fan girls, leaving Tohru standing by the door like a loser. She certainly felt like a loser. Looking around, she saw no one she knew. They were all juniors and seniors. Most of them were drinking beer of vodka. Most of them had their backs to her. There was nothing to do and no one friendly to talk to! In fear and apprehensiveness, Tohru moved over slightly to the wall. 'I'm a wallflower!' she cried to herself. Somehow, that struck her quite funny and she laughed a little. And somehow, she managed to catch the eye of an extremely dangerous-looking person. He nodded at her and left his group of guy-pals. The boy was at least six feet tall, with long, unruly black hair, dark eyes and a pierced ear. He was wearing all black and was carrying a bottle of something potent-looking. Tohru gulped. There was no way she could escape from this punishment.

"Hey, baby! How old are ya?" the boy said, slurring his words. Half an hour into the party and he was already drunk.

"Um..." she mumbled, looking down at her boots. Maybe if she acted as insignificant as possible, he would go away. Wrong.

"I'm Daisuke! Let's go party!" he cried, attempting to step forward and take her hand, but luckily stumbled and missed.

"Um..." Tohru said, again.

"I saw you come in with that guy. He's not your boyfriend, is he?" asked Daisuke with mock concern, "Because he's over there, pimping it out."

Tohru glanced over to where he was pointing. And sure enough, there was Yuki in a lip lock with some girl. Yume.

"Yuuuuuuuuki and Yuuuuuuuuume..." he sung to himself, "They rhyme! Heh heh! I'm so clever, aren't I, precious?"

But Tohru didn't even answer him with an "um." Instead, she marched right over to Yuki and pulled him off of her.

"I need to talk to you for a second." she said, and dragged him out to the backyard, leaving a fuming Yume behind her. Once they arrived, Yuki turned to her.

"What is it?" he asked. His breath smelled like whisky. He must've already had two drinks in the five minutes that they were there.

"Are you drunk?" she asked him.

"No." he said, "So, really, what is it? I have to...I have to get back."

Tohru took a deep breath. "I know that now isn't really a good time to tell you this, because you're half-drunk and in a very sexy mood. Well, maybe it is a good idea to tell you this now. Yuki, for the whole time that I've known you, I've liked you. There. I've said it. Finally."

Yuki looked at her for a few seconds in shock at her confession, and then began to laugh.

"You like me?!" he asked, "That's the funniest thing I've ever heard!"

"Why?" she asked, her voice catching in her throat.

"Because I don't like you!" he said.

**STOP**

At this point in the story, you may go to either of the last chapters (or read them both) to read the alternate ending. Enjoy!

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Okay, so most of you are probably wondering why it's taking so long to upload the chapters. Recently, my parents got divorced and all of the chapters were on my computer at my dad's house. But I live at my mom's house. So I tried to email them to myself but that didn't work for some weird reason, so now I have to put them on my USB. But I was having a few technical difficulties with that. Don't worry about the two alternate endings. I'm going to my dad's house tomorrow to do the final transfer of things, so while I'm there, I'm going to download them really fast. I'm sorry for leaving all of you on this cliffhanger!!!

Love,

Katie!


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